Impulse buying is hands down the best way to waste your expendable income. And in this hard-fought consumer-led recession period, every dollar counts.
One family decided enough was enough and diced up 8 of their 9 credit and debit cards. They left the last one literally frozen in a cup of ice in case of emergencies.
Switching to the slow paced cash-only mentality was difficult for the Farhat family profiled by ABC News.com, but it eventually saved them $1,800 in one month.
The cash technique puts an added level of thought to your day-to-day purchases. If you're too lazy to go to the ATM and painfully withdraw money while watching your account level fall, then maybe you shouldn't be using a debit card so much to begin with.
I'm not sure this technique would work too well for the young single guys out there. No online gambling or online spending at all? Bummer. But think of all the good ways to spend those singles at the local strip club and elsewhere.
To be honest, it pays to be thrifty. When you stop wasting your money on little stupid stuff you don't need, it's so much easier to afford the big stupid things you've been dying to get! Plus, if your wife is the type of person that can't realize buying a new dress every other week is going to hurt your family's tight budget, you might have to resort to cash-only tactics too.
Also, check out our little rant on why you should always keep $500 in your house at all times.
ABC: Paper or Plastic? Family Saved With Cash, Aug 24, 2008 via Consumerist
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